Civil society in Uganda participation programme

About the project

Despite existing legal protections, CSOs in Uganda continue to face barriers to their existence and operations, including new laws and policies that restrict rights and freedoms. As a result, CSOs have been subjected to suspensions, criminal allegations, and withdrawal of permits. Human rights activists are particularly vulnerable to censorship and harassment due to a general lack of public awareness about human rights.

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) will work with civil society and government to contribute to a more open and secure environment for women-led civil society organisations in Uganda by increasing knowledge of policies governing freedom of expression and access to information to improve legal compliance and to address capacity gaps that contribute to misinterpretation and misapplication of policies. It is hoped the project will reach 80% of the national radio audience with information on freedom of expression and access to information; 1 million people through radio spot messages; and 5000 users through social media.

This will be achieved by:

• producing and broadcasting spot messages and conducting legal empowerment radio talk shows with experts from CSOs, media and regulatory authorities on the legal framework for freedom of expression and access to information
• producing a simplified version of an existing women’s rights legal education guide in local languages and disseminating it widely to enable women to speak up in defence of their rights
• organising creative twitter chats involving representatives of selected CSOs, media houses, key ministries, departments and agencies, and social media influencers to enhance citizen participation and advocacy on freedom of expression and access to information
• organising annual national legal empowerment events with selected CSOs, youth, women, policy-makers and persons living with disabilities, to share innovative practices and recommendations
• producing a policy brief and organise follow up meetings with policy-makers and CSOs to share these innovations and implement the actions and recommendations agreed during the events.

As a result of this project, it is hoped that women-led CSOs in Uganda will be able to operate in a more secure and open environment; policies protecting freedom of expression and access to information will be implemented more effectively; and engagement between government and CSOs will be enhanced.